Cause You Were Here
by Jck'sBrknHeart
Summary: Audrey moved from Phoenix, Arizona with her family to Castle Rock. Ace has already lasoed Audrey with his charms, but Chris Chambers has intrigued her without even meeting her. . .
1. Chapter 1

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to try and defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter One**

"Audrey, hurry the fuck up!" A tall, muscled blonde boy yelled at the girl from the otherside of her bedroom door. He was getting impatient waiting for her to get ready. It was ironic really; he always wanted Audrey to look her best, but never wanted to spend the time waiting for her to meet his standards.

"Quit yelling at me Ace, and maybe I will!" She responded, just as loudly.

"I swear to God Audrey!" He replied, in a warning tone.

"Like God would ever listen to you, Ace," She muttered to herself, angrily.

She knew what could happen when you kept Ace Merrill waiting; she had witnessed it first hand. The last time she took a few minutes too long, he slapped her around some. Nothing _too_ bad and he apologized the next day, but it was still obvious that Ace had a temper. Everyone saw that temper in him too, even his numb-skull friends, they just didn't dare say anything about it. They were afraid of what Ace could do to them.

Audrey exited the bedroom door and let Ace look her over. He decided that she was up to his standards, and took her hand as they exited her home as they headed out to his car - it was to the Cobra's hang out for them. Audrey's mother stared at the pair before she left, disappointed that her daughter would get involved with such a bad crowd. Her father shook his head at the two as they left, angry that his daughter was dating someone three years her senior.

She was an impressionable young lady, but quite mature and easy to deal with as far as being appropriate goes. That was what Ace liked second most about this girl; what he _loved _about Audrey was her gorgeous figure and her beautiful face. Ace was seemingly driven by testosterone alone, and he liked being the best bad guy around. One of the standards that had to be upheld was what his girl looked like, and Audrey was perfect in that caliber. Her amiable personality was just a plus. Before Audrey had moved to Castle Rock earlier that summer, Ace had been fooling around with the typical blonde twits that hung around the pool hall dying to be noticed by Ace, Eyeball Chambers, or even Charlie Hogan. After Ace met Audrey, the girls at the Hall began to make him sick - a fact that would perplex him until long after Audrey graduated from high school and moved away.

Audrey had moved to Castle Rock from Phoenix, Arizona in late June. It was early August now and with Ace taking up most of her time, Audrey knew no one from her sophomore class. If he could have, Ace would have loved to keep it that way, but not because he was selfish and wanted to keep Audrey all to himself. He wouldn't even mind if she made more girlfriends, it was just that Ace knew that Audrey was the same age as Chris Chambers, Gordon LaChance, Vern Tessio, and Teddy DuChamp. He hated Chris Chambers more than any of the other aforementioned because of the Ray Browers incident. Ace also had a sinking feeling in his gut about what might happen if Audrey and Chris ever met. He knew that Chris would be attracted to Audrey and he didn't want _no one_ looking at his girl like that. Charlie Hogan had learned that the hard way – with a punch in the face.

The couple arrived at their destination not even ten minutes later, earning respect and obedience the moment they entered from all of the guys there. Charlie was giving some new kid a home-made tattoo as they listened to the radio and smoked cigarettes. Audrey liked all the guys, especially Ace, but she hated them as a group. She hated the way they acted and, even more than that, she hated that she actually fit in there.

"Yo, Ace," Eyeball called.

"What homo?" Ace responded, as he lit a cigarette cooly.

"I heard one of my kid brother's friends talking about your girl," He told him.

Ace inhaled, then exhaled, "Which one?"

All of this sparked her interest, but she wouldn't let it even seem that way. She had heard all about Vern Tessio, Teddy DuChamp, Gordie Lachance, and Chris Chambers. She had heard that two summers before, they 'stole' that poor kid's dead body. The boys hadn't gotten any credit for turning the body in, they simply made an anonymous phone call and the boy was found only hours later by the authorities. Audrey simply couldn't grasp why the Cobras were still so angry over something so _stupid_. She attributed their immature behavior to testosterone in the end and listened as the conversation moved on.

"One with the glasses. His dad's in the looney bin in Togus," Eyeball replied.

"Your kid brother say anything?" Ace asked, calmly. Perhaps it was the fact that Teddy was crazy that kept Ace from getting angry about it, or maybe it was the fact that it simply wasn't Chris Chambers that had been talking about her.

Chris was often compared to Ace and Eyeball, just another screwed up Chambers kid in the eyes of the public, but even Ace knew that Chris wasn't Cobra material. The younger Chambers was more intelligent than his brother, and besides that, his best friend was a good kid.

"Nah, man. He ain't said nothing about her."

Seeing as though Eyeball hated Chris as much as Ace did, Ace thought nothing of it and carried on with the smoking of his cigarette. After a couple hours of doing nothing, Ace leaned over and whispered into Audrey's ear.

"Let's get out of here," He murmured. He stared at her for an answer and she nodded softly, a small smile on her face.

They both rose from their spot on the hood of Ace's car, and he nodded to his friends, "We're getting out of here. See you homos later."

"Goodbye boys," Audrey replied, and the boys began laughing and horsing around. They knew as well as Audrey and Ace themselves did that what they were about to do wasn't exactly innocent.

The pair settled back into the car and headed out to one of Ace's many secluded areas in Castle Rock; a place that had privacy where they could have sex without any interruptions or distractions. To Ace, it was the best thing about dating Audrey. To Audrey, it was a bit of a different story.


	2. Chapter 2

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Two**

Audrey stood before the mirror as she pulled a brush through her long, black locks. There were light bite marks visible on her somewhat pale skin that were easily hidden by her dark wavy hair, but still noticeable all the same. A chill overcame her, causing her to rub her own arms to produce some warmth, and as she did so she realized that autumn was right around the corner. She sighed softly, dreading the short cold days of winter, as she flipped the light-switch next to the vanity and walked the short three feet to her bed. She settled in, and almost as soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

It was Monday morning, and Audrey's first day at Jefferson High School. She was shook awake by her father who was much too cheery for 6 AM. His cheery disposition was undermined, however, by his rough exterior. He was clothed in a navy dress-robe that was tied firmly around his middle and a pair of flannel pants that Audrey had bought for him as a Christmas gift the previous year. His hair was disheveled and it looked as though he hadn't shaved in two days. She laughed a bit at him.

"Oh, never mind my appearance Audrey Lucille Schimtt," Her father warned, in a joking tone.

She smiled, "I'll try Papa."

Her father smiled sweetly at his daughter before heading back to his and his wife's bedroom as Audrey got up. She firmly closed her door and went to the chair she had set her clothes on the day before. She pulled on her undergarments, a dark navy skirt, a petticoat, and after this she put on a white, scoop neck blouse. She went over to her vanity and pulled her hair into a high pony tail. She put on her make-up on as per usual, followed by her shoes, and then left her room to seek her mother's approval at the breakfast table.

After a quick breakfast, she headed to school with her books and things in tow. Her thoughts drifted to Ace and what he had said when she told him that she actually planned to go to school for the full day.

"What's the point?" He had asked.

"To try to keep up the charade that I'm a lady," She had mused.

"Ok," He answered, and said nothing more about the matter.

Just as she was thinking about this, the familiar black convertible pulled up slowly besides her. The boy in the driver's seat said nothing, insteading choosing to just stare at her for a few moments. He noticed the soft sway in her walk and the way her hair was pulled back. He noticed everything.

"Hey, good lookin'," He said, in that same ominous tone he always used. Even when Ace liked you, was happy, or excited, he used that same calm, ominous tone. He never raised his voice, and everyone knew that he had no reason to.

Audrey's attention turned to him.

"Ace–"

"Audrey, get in the car," He said, cutting her off.

She looked at him as she continued walking with the car at her side, going just as slowly. She looked him over, now noticing that he was not up to his usual standards of dress. It looked a little like he had just rolled out of bed, but she held her tongue about the matter as she took a moment to ponder whether it was worth it to object or not. She quickly decided to get into the car as he had asked her to. Audrey walked around the back of the car and got in to the passenger's seat. Ace smiled at her softly and started driving the speed limit.

She assumed that he was going to take her home with him, but was surprised when they pulled up in front of a large building, bustling with kids around her own age. A sign in front of the school read, 'Jefferson High School' in bold letters. She smiled a little, happy that he actually listened to her for once.

"Thank you Ace," She smiled and kissed his cheek.

He smiled, if only briefly, then sighed, "Now get out of the car before you ruin my reputation."

She rolled her eyes and got out of the car quickly enough. Ace pulled out of the parking spot and sped off. This was not, however, before he noticed that Chris and Gordie were staring at the couple blankly - either in shock or in fear.

Ace gave them one warning, ominous look before completely heading back to his house. His thoughts were on Audrey and was worried for the first time in his life about what she would think about him once Chris, Gordie and the others got a hold of her. It wasn't like Ace to worry about what any one else thought of him, especially not a girl. But, he brushed the thoughts off as he parked in front of his house and headed back to bed for a few hours. In three hours, Ace had to head out to the shop to work. He was a mechanic now that he had graduated and he had to work to get out of his Dad's house.

Meanwhile, Chris and Gordie stared at Audrey knowingly.

"So that's Ace's girlfriend?" Chris asked Gordie as she sauntered up the hill.

"That's what Teddy and Vern said. They've seen her a couple of times after Ace dropped Billy off. They said she was a real babe, but --" Gordie trailed, " I didn't think she'd be that good looking. I mean, _she is_ going out with _Ace Merrill _and all."

Chris laughed and nodded in agreement, "I think we should go talk to her."

"Man, you must be talking to Teddy too much. You're starting to talk like him," Gordie told his rambunctious friend.

"Am not," Chris objected.

"Well, you both have a death wish," His best friend rationalized, "Ace will kill you if he finds out you've been talking to her, and for good reason."

Chris smiled, ignoring his friend's good advice completely, and started walking towards Audrey. Gordie sighed and ran to catch up with Chris before he did something stupid.


	3. Chapter 3

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Three**

Audrey walked slowly over the school yard. She felt people staring, their gazes burning into her skin, evading her privacy, and wanting to know why _Ace Merrill_ dropped her off at school. She watched as a blonde boy with blue eyes approached with a slightly less than attractive boy in tow. She kept her head down and proceeded to the entrance of the school.

Her hand reached the doors, but the boys approached her before she had the chance to enter the school and dissipate into the safety of the crowded halls. They cleared their throats, demanding her attention.

She turned around, "Yes boys?"

"Did Ace Merrill just drop you off?" They asked collectively.

She shrugged, "Maybe, what's it to you?"

The light-haired boy stood staring at her, as if he knew more about her than she thought. He stared at her like she should not have been hanging out with a guy like Ace. He stared at her as if she were someone worth while. In her head, she laughed at him.

"Is your name Audrey?" The light-haired boy asked.

She shrugged again.

"Do you know Eyeball Chambers?" He questioned.

"Yes," She replied.

He frowned, "Why are you hanging out with a guy like Ace?" And there it was, the questioned she had been waiting for from her parents for months, and from either of the boys for at least three minutes now.

She had the strongest urge to say, "Because he's sexy." She held her tongue and instead, opened the door, ignoring the boy who was so inquizitive. Audrey headed to the office to get her schedule and then found her locker on the first floor. As she swung open the door, she noticed that the boy next to her was having trouble with his locker.

She smiled at him, softly, "Need a hand?"

"Please," He said, a little helplessly.

"What's your combination?" She asked, standing in front of his locker.

"18," He said.

She turned to the number.

"27."

She turned the opposite way to that number.

"9."

She turned to that one and tried to open it. It didn't open at first, so she kicked it. It popped open almost effortlessly after that.

"There ya go," She smiled.

"Thank you, sincerely," He said excitedly as he stuffed many a book into his locker.

"You're welcome," She replied and placed her own books into her locker.

The boy looked inquisitively up at her, "What's your name?"

"Audrey Schmitt, yourself?"

"Vern Tessio."

_Great. I'm surrounded by my boyfriend's friend's brothers_, She thought emotionlessly.

"What's your first class?"

"Math," She replied.

"I have shop," He said, almost sadly.

She shrugged, "Have fun."

"You too!" He called as she walked away from their set of locker and up the stairs to the assigned classroom.

She entered the small, dusky room that smelled like moth balls and sat near the middle of the class. The two boys from earlier entered, and the light-haired one smirked at her. He took a seat next to her and the dark haired boy sat in front of him. They started laughing at apparently nothing. She glanced at them with mock-annoyance.

"What's your name anyway?" She asked, the dark-haired one.

She full-well knew the name of the light-haired boy.

"Gordie LaChance, and you are?"

"Audrey Schmitt."

"Why didn't you ask for my name?" The light-haired boy asked.

She smiled at him, "I already know your name."

"Oh yeah, and what is it?"

"Christopher Chambers."

"How did you–" He asked, his jaw dropping.

"Ace and Eyeball talk about you all the time." She responded and looked up to the teacher who hurried into the room.

She was a short, pudgy lady of maybe thirty-six. Her cheeks were red from rushing up the stairs and into the classroom - something that Chris, Gordie, Audrey, and their classmates would grow accustumed to. Mrs. Finnigan, their math teacher, was often late and absent-minded, however that is a different story for a different time. The class began shortly after that, and with Math being Chris' easiest class of the day, he spent his time paying attention to Audrey instead of the lesson or the jibber-jabber of first day of school gossip.


	4. Chapter 4

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Four **

As the class came to a close, Chris began paying mind to the teacher. He mindlessly scribbled down the beginnings of her notes and glanced over at the raven-haired girl he would grow to adore.

"So what's your next class?" He asked her enthusiastically.

She stared at him for a moment, contemplating whether or not he was a complete jackass. How could he not know who she was, and why she was with Ace? Chris being uninformed seemed very improbable - his brother was Eyeball Chambers, best friend of Ace Merrill, after all.

"Are you stupid?" She asked, softly.

Her icy blue eyes were full of innocence and insecurities, and Chris saw them all. He doubted that Ace did, or ever would, see that very same thing. Upon realizing that he had not answered her question, he shook his head. "No, I'm not stupid," Chris replied with a grin.

"Then why don't you leave me alone? Ace will kill you if –"

Chris rolled his eyes, "I'm a Chambers. We can do _anything._"

"Oh really?" She questioned, skeptically.

He nodded, again with a grin.

"I doubt that," She replied, "I know your brother, remember?"

Chris rolled his eyes, "Bad example. Now, what class do you have?"

"English," She replied softly; she liked his perseverance.

"Hey, you've got another class with Gordie!"

"Okay," She replied with a shrug, and then walked off to her next class.

Chris decided that he would eventually pull this girl away from Ace Merrill, and in doing that win her for himself. He needed a plan. He needed Gordie, Vern, and Teddy's help. Okay, so maybe he could do with out Teddy's help.

Chris shook the thoughts from his head as he jogged to Physical Science. He skidded into the room, right before the bell rang and sat promptly next to Teddy, who had saved a seat for him.

After school, Audrey again helped poor Vern with his locker. She opened her own locker, put all her books away, having received no homework on the first day, and left the building. Ace was sitting on the hood of his baby, waiting for Audrey to get out of her last class. He had been waiting all day to see that gorgeous face of hers again, and once it finally appeared among the throng of others streaming out of the building, he smiled.

To Ace, Audrey was no longer just some girl. She was his girl, and he genuinely liked her. As cold and as heartless as he seemed, Ace Merrill liked Audrey Schmitt for who she was, inside and out. It was difficult for anyone to grasp, but especially difficult for himself to wrap his mind around. It was likely that Eyeball, Charlie, and the other wet-ends he hung around with would understand before Ace would even begin to realize that he _loved_ Audrey, and by then, perhaps, it would be too late. Somewhere deep down inside though, he always knew that he would one day find a girl that would make him change his ways. Audrey, he thought, was that girl.

She smiled at him and sped up her pace to meet up with him. He smirked at her, in the same way he always had, and moved the toothpick between his lips from one side of his mouth to the other. She came up to him, and he removed aforementioned toothpick from his lips. Right then and there, Ace kissed Audrey. They pulled apart a few moments later.

"Ace, I thought you didn't want them to –" Audrey started.

"Fuck who sees," Ace replied, still in that calm tone.

She wondered, briefly, if it was possible to break Ace's calm tone; she wanted to hear him happy, anxious, excited, or even angry. Somewhere in her heart, she knew that no one could and that she would never hear any of those emotions in his voice. A sigh escaped her as they broke away from each other and both got into the car. Ace didn't hear the exasperated sigh, if he had he might have asked what was wrong.

The pair arrived at the Billiard hall soon after school. They met up with Charlie and Eyeball there, and the boys were both surprised to see that Audrey was still with Ace – their friend never kept girls around _too_ long. If he had, it would have been a completely different story.

Charlie and Ace had placed a bet earlier that week about who could play pool better, and they were absorbed with their own game as Eyeball and Audrey started their own conversation. Eyeball eyed Audrey, suspiciously.

"So did ya meet my kid brother?" He asked her.

She shrugged, "Chris, right?"

She had to pretend that she had no idea who he was so that Ace wouldn't get irritated and go kick his ass. Audrey very much doubted that Chris could hold his own against Ace and his switchblade.

"Yeah, Chris," Eyeball nodded as he took his third consecutive shot.

"He sits next to me in Trigonometry with that skinny kid," Audrey shrugged.

Ace's ears perked to the mention of Chris being around Audrey. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't watch how they interacted. Ace had a bad feeling about Chris and Audrey and he didn't like it.

"Did he say anything to you?" Ace asked as he shot.

Audrey shook her head innocently, "No. He just talked to the skinny kid."

"What about any of the other boys?" Ace asked.

Audrey laughed, "Only Vern, but that was because his locker was stuck shut and I helped him."

"Why?" Ace asked, his attention fully on Audrey.

Audrey laughed again, "Because _Ace_, I'm not heartless. I felt bad for the kid."

Ace finally left it at that.

Audrey breathed in with relief; she didn't have to worry about Ace doing anything stupid to any of the kids she'd met today. She was also relieved, because he believed her lies. Had he not, she would be in a great deal of trouble with him. Which, for her, would not be good. She did like Ace, just as he liked her. The only difference was that she recognized the feelings as love, while he still wasn't sure what to call that feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he saw her.

For Audrey, it was much more than just Ace's good looks. It was his personality; that calm, collected, and yet somehow menacing behavior. Of course there was also the way he was so open about sex, Audrey was a pervert in her own right and was happy to be with someone who felt the same way she did. They got along. They were good together. _He trusted her_, but if this was all true, then why was she so convinced that he was not the guy for her?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Five **

It was the next day and this time Ace slept in allowing Audrey to walk all the way to school. If she had to guess she would say that he drank a bit too much the previous night and was still passed out. But, that would only be if she _had_ to guess, and she didn't. It took her twenty minutes to cross the small town and arrive at the High School. Her black hair was pin-curled today and fell eloquently about her high cheekbones and feminine jaw line. Her black skirt swayed from side to side as she walked. Not one of the boys could say that they didn't enjoy watching as she headed up the front lawn of the school.

Even Teddy, Vern, Gordie and Chris were impressed. They stared, mouths agape, at the new girl. It wasn't the first time they'd seen her, but something about her today – it was as if she were glowing. She looked beautiful, perhaps more so than ever before. To them, it was even more amazing that she didn't notice as they all stared at her as she passed. She entered the school unknowingly and headed to her locker contentedly.

Vern rushed in behind her knowing that he couldn't open his locker by himself. Gordie went in as well to go to his own locker and get his books, while Chris, and Teddy, stayed outside a little while longer. They weren't the type of boys to ever be too excited to go to school, and besides that, they had something pressing to discuss.

"Is that the girl?" Teddy asked.

"Yup," Chris replied with a nod.

Teddy laughed, "You're crazier than I am."

"Hey, what're you trying to say DuChamp?"

"Nothing, just that you're going to have fun tearing her away from Ace."

"Even you doubt me? Shit, Hell had to have frozen over last night."

Teddy laughed again, "We're just trying to tell you what's going to happen before you get your hopes up man. Ace is older, has a car, and let's face it, Ace _is_ more appealing to the ladies then you are."

"Man, you're dead," Chris began, and came after his friend jokingly.

Teddy ran like a bitch into the school and Chris went in too, seeing as though his friends were now all inside. He went to his locker, got his math book, and then climbed the stairs to the still dingy room. Today, it smelled like lavender and moth balls - the teacher's sad attempt at trying to cover up the mildew-stench only made the students want to vomit more. Chris gagged as he plopped into the seat he'd picked out for himself the previous day.

Audrey climbed the stairs gracefully, letting her feet hit the ground in soft slow steps. She noticed Gordie to her left, but said nothing to him as he climbed the stairs quietly as well. Audrey wondered for a moment why there were times at which everything you did seemed so slow. Even while the world was bustling around you, you could feel calm and unaffected by chaos.

She entered the room behind Gordie and sighed as she took her assigned seat next to Chris. Audrey was, to say the least, not at all happy about the fact she had to be around Chris _all the time_. Besides Trig, the pair had Grammar, Latin, and United States History together; Audrey already liked Chris, and to like him more would end in disaster. She wanted friends her own age, but she was afraid of the repercussions that might have on her relationship with Ace.

"How are you doing today?" Chris asked, nonchalantly. He wanted to seem like he was calm, cool, collected and like he didn't want Audrey as much as he really did. He tried to be suave, or sophisticated, but she knew that he was neither of those things. Chris suspected this, but tried to impress her irregardless.

"Fine, how are you?"

"Better now," He said.

She smiled, "That's good then."

He nodded, "It is."

A pause.

"Hey Chris," Gordie said a few seconds later.

"Yeah Gordo?"

"What're you doing tonight?"

"Probably nothing, why?'

"Oh, you think you can get out of your house?"

"Yeah, probably, why?"

"Because–" Gordie's eyes shifted around the room, uncertainly. It reminded Audrey of the bad P.I. movies that her father used to take her to see when they still lived in Phoenix.

"Forget it, I'll tell you later," He said.

With that Chris shrugged and turned his attention to the plump woman in front of the room. She was writing notes on the board in quick jagged movements. The twitchy movements gave him a headache, and rationalizing that as an excuse in his mind, Chris' attention turned to Audrey. If he had been truthful to himself, he might have told himself that it was just that Audrey was a hell of a lot prettier than Mrs. Finnigan.


	6. Chapter 6

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways. I have also rewritten entire chapters that are much better, in my own humble opinion. From now on, the chapters will be entirely different from their original, lesser counterparts.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Six**

On a Friday a couple of weeks later, Chris jogged to catch up with Audrey after school and jokingly grabbed her hand. She looked over at him as if he were crazy and had already decided in her mind that he was, indeed, clinically insane.

"Chris, are you crazy?" She asked, no hint of joking in her tone.

He smiled, "No. Teddy's the crazy one."

Audrey rolled her eyes at his answer, "Anyway, what did you want?"

"Come with me, Gordy, Vern and Teddy, this weekend," He replied.

She again gave him that 'are you crazy' look, and Chris, being the smartass he always was, smirked in reply. She was growing increasingly skeptical of his intentions. To Audrey, Chris either really wanted to die, or he really wanted _her. _Nevertheless, he was just asking for an ass-kicking brought to him by Ace or his brother at the very least.

"What are you so afraid of?" He asked, staring at her.

She rolled her eyes, "Ace killing you because you're talking to his girl."

"Oh, come on. He won't do anything, I'm Chris Chambers!"

She rolled her eyes, "So you've said."

"What? Have a little faith in me, will you?"

She smiled, "Why should I? So far all you have proved to me is that you're clinically insane."

Chris looked at her skeptically, a little bit of hurt in his eyes that he tried to hide, "Well, you can't do much worse than Ace."

She glared at him defensively, "Who the hell do you think you are? Judging myself and Ace, you don't even _know_ me and you're assuming that --"

"Slow down, Slow down," Chris calmed her by rubbing her back reassuringly, "All I was trying to say is that Ace is a real jerk, you know?"

Angry blue eyes stared back up at him, "He can be, yes, but you shouldn't just make accusations about us and then --"

"I just think you're too good to be hanging around with him, that's all. I've known Ace my whole life, and trust me, he's just gotten to be more and more of an ass as he's grown up."

The female sighed, "I'm not surprised that he has. It's just that. . ." She paused, taking a moment to look back up at the sixteen year old boy, "there's something about him. Sure, he might not be the _very best_ person for me, but I think in his own way he loves me."

"Sure, I've heard that before too. Ace will promise a girl the world and make her believe he cares, and then do you know what happens?" Chris asked her shortly. She shook her head, and he answered her pointedly, "He'll get them to have sex with him, and then he'll dump them a week later."

"I can imagine," She replied, "But don't worry too much about that Chris."

"And why not?"

"Because..." She paused, and he turned to face her.

"Oh, Oh, that can't be good. You've already done that with him, haven't you?"

She forced a half-smile, "I told you that I'm not too good for him. Trust me, Chambers, you can do much better than me. Just, drop it would you?"

He searched her blue eyes for something, something like a hint of a lie or a trace of being sorry for what she'd done, but he found nothing of the sort. He felt disappointed, but it wasn't the first time. He smiled, "Sorry Audrey, I just can't do that."

She looked shocked, "You stubborn son of a --"

"Hey, keep my mother out of this," He quickly stopped her.

They were silent as they passed the last of the businesses, and then Chris perked up again, "So what do you say?"

"About what?"

"Spend tomorrow with Gordie, Vern, Teddy and I. If Ace cares about you half as much as you think he does, he can spend a day without you."

"HA! You say you've known Ace since birth, and yet you seem to forget the fact that he's the most impatient person I know," Audrey replied.

"Stop dancing around the question, will you come with us or not? I promise we won't hurt you, if we do you can get that big bad boyfriend of yours to 'kill' us."

"Sure, I'll come with you guys - but what will I tell Ace?" She asked, "I can't exactly say that I'm going for a nature walk with Eyeball's little brother and his friends."

"Just tell him your folks want you to stay in tonight, he'll go for that, won't he?'

"No," She blinked at him stupidly, "He'll tell me to sneak out."

"Tell him they're taking you to see your cousin upstate."

"That's so logical. It doesn't sound like you at all, Chris," She joked.

"I'm not half as crazy as you think I am, and I'm not nearly as crazy as my brother," He admitted, coming up to the fork between their two blocks. They paused there, "There's something else you should know. We might not end up being home until the next day."

"Oh, now I have to lie to my folks too?"

Chris stared at her, surprised, "You already lie to them, don't you? I mean, they can't approve of Ace Merrill and even if they did, I would hope they didn't know what you and Ace do."

"You have a point there. So what should I tell my parents?"

"You've met Maggie, haven't you?"

"Maggie Reynolds, right?"

"Yeah, anyway, Gordie talked to her, and she said that it was fine if you pretended to stay at her house for the night. You have to tell them that you'll walk there though, which won't be a problem anyway because she lives two houses down from you."

"Why would she agree to that?"

"Honestly, I think she likes Gordie."

"Alright, where do you want me to meet you?"

"Behind the diner; I might not be there right away but Gordie and Vern will be."

"I'll see you there around six then, I suppose."

"Sounds good," Chris nodded, and they both headed their separate ways.


	7. Chapter 7

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways. Some chapters are completely different from their original counterparts, from chapter 6 through to the end of the story, the plot may remain mostly the same but the chapters are fresh material.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Seven**

After explaining to her parents that she was going to stay with a new friend from school, and being granted permission, Audrey headed off to the Billiards Hall to see her boyfriend. He was happy to see her, but could tell that she was going to say something he didn't like from the moment she walked into the room. She smiled, greeting him with a kiss and then began to explain to him what Chris had told her - only leaving out the part that Chris had told her to tell him this.

"What do you mean, you can't see me for the next two days?" Ace asked Audrey, angrily.

She stared at him, her blue eyes looking up at him innocently, " I'm sorry. My mother just decided that we should go see my mother's sister in Portland. Mom's all excited about me seeing my cousins for the first time. She wouldn't take too kindly to me telling her that I wanted to stay home with Papa."

Ace scoffed, "I haven't seen you all week."

"I know it's not fair baby," She said sweetly. It wasn't hard for her to sweet-talk him, and at the time, she believed it was just because she had sex with him almost every time they were together. What she would later find out was that Ace did indeed _love_ her in his own special way; whether or not he could say the words was a completely different story.

He kissed her suddenly and she managed to wrap her arms around him before she fell backwards on to the ground beneath her feet. The kiss lasted so long that Charlie and Billy began wolf-whistling at them. There was a prompt finger gesture from Ace before he picked Audrey up and carried her to the bathroom at the back of the building.

Suddenly, the raven-haired teenager began to remember the disappointed look Chris had given her. She had seen the look many, many times before from her disapproving parents when ever she went out with boys who were two years older than she. Ace could sense something was wrong before Audrey even said anything. Softly, she said, "I have to be ready to go soon, Ace."

Now Ace's masculinity was on the line and he gave Audrey a kicked puppy look that she had never before witnessed. She kissed him, "I'm sorry, but Mum wants to leave by five-thirty. It's already five-fifteen, there's no way I'll make it home on time as it is. She'll already be angry with me."

Ace glanced down at his softer counter part not really knowing what to say to her. He had feelings for her, yes, but he was now beginning to wonder if she had the same type of feelings for him. For Ace, an actual relationship was a new thing and although he had confidence apart from her, whenever Audrey was around he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach - like he wasn't as sure of himself as he once thought. Partially hurt, the young man stepped back and didn't say anything as she slipped out of the door.

After she left, he realized he should have objected. She knew it was uncharacteristic of him to not be outraged that she wouldn't fuck him, and it surprised him that he wasn't. When he went back downstairs, he made up some lie to his friends about why they didn't do it and went back to his usual self.

In the meantime, Audrey was picking up the light bag of items she had brought with her. She hid behind a dumpster as she changed into a more conspicuous outfit - a pair of jeans, Converse tennis shoes, a Red Sox hat, and a navy t-shirt - before stuffing the clothes she had been wearing into the bag and heading to the diner looking and walking very much like a boy.

Audrey had plenty of practice pretending to be a male, after all. It was the only way she could walk around Phoenix without her father or mother seeing her. While Audrey was supposed to be studying in her dormitory at St. Catherine's Sacred Heart, she often snuck out to see a sixteen year old boy named Dean. Dean was one of Audrey's very favorite hobbies, and although almost no one suspected the two were even seeing each other (let alone having sex), it was clear that her head wasn't always in her studies.

Normally, Audrey was 4.0 student at any school she attended - regardless if it was coeducational or not. However, while she was having sex with Dean and thinking about him almost constantly (as most estrogen-driven sixteen year old girls tend to do), her grades dropped lower and lower until her parents were notified that the school was seriously considering expelling her for lack of commitment to educational advancement. Her parents found her with Dean one day, and a few short weeks later, the family was moved into their house in Castle Rock.

It wasn't the first time that her parents had become suspicious of their daughter's relationship with males of around the same age - Audrey had always been a flirt and it only got worse as the years passed. That was how she got into St. Catherine's to begin with; her father caught her necking in a car with a boy almost two years older than herself.

Audrey's relationship with Dean wasn't the only reason Allen and Georgina decided to move their daughter several states away, however. Allen had been offered a better paying job with easier hours that would allow him to spend more time with his family - a family that the couple was anxious to expand. They didn't want a possible second child to be influenced by the city as Audrey had been, and along with their daughter's behavior, the new, better job offer was enough reason to go.

Nevertheless, moving their daughter states away broke her heart and they thought that John 'Ace' Merrill was her own special version of revenge on them.

Their thoughts weren't far off.


	8. Chapter 8

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways. This chapter is completely new material and very different from it's original counterpart.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Eight**

"Hey Gordie, Hey Vern," Audrey called to her new 'friends' as she approached from the alley behind the diner. They both turned and stared at her for a moment.

"The 'ell are you?" Vern questioned, clearly confused by Audrey's new attire. He stared at her, trying to place the young man he had obviously not met before.

"Vern you jerk off, that's Audrey in boy clothes," Gordie said rolling his eyes as Audrey closed in on them, her eyebrows raised.

Almost an hour later, Audrey looked up at Gordie from the game of Rummy that she was playing with Teddy, "Where is that Chambers boy anyway?"

"'That Chambers boy'?" Gordie questioned, raising a brow, "I'm not sure. He said he would be here by now."

Audrey threw down three Jacks and a run of Queen, King, and Ace of Hearts and threw out her last card - a two of clubs - as Teddy began cursing profusely. "That's not fair, you cheated Audrey. You had to have!"

"I did not cheat." She said adamantly and picked them up to shuffle them. She was growing worried about Chris as he became more and more late. She hoped that nothing bad had happened to him.

...

Chris struggled up the hill towards the treehouse, where he had told Gordie to go if he wasn't behind the Diner before 6:15. It was far later than that now, and with a bruised body, he climbed up the ladder and pushed the door open, spilling the cards Teddy and Audrey had been playing with all over the floor.

Audrey looked at him worriedly, as did Gordie. Vern and Teddy never did ask where the bruises came from, and never would - it was not their place to ask, as their parents had taught them. Audrey leaned over the tired Chris and lightly touched her fingers to Chris' bruised left cheekbone. He visibly winced in pain.

"Who did this to you?" She asked quietly. She understood that a man needed his masculinity or whatever, but she was afraid that somehow Ace had found out about her being with these boys rather than with her mother. Never could she had guessed what he would later tell her.

"No one. I tripped down the stairs on my way out of the house." He blatantly and obviously lied to her. Too ashamed to tell her that it was his father, and too smart to tell her that Ace had done it, a lie seemed like the best option at that time.

"So when are we getting out of here, Chris?" Gordie asked, changing the subject as quickly as he could.

"Give me ten minutes." Chris said, simply.

Ten minutes later the quintet was in Gordie's father's station wagon (yes, he borrowed it for this very _special_ occasion) to God-knows-where. Audrey gazed on worriedly at the dirty blonde boy that her boyfriend had warned her to 'stay the fuck away' from. He was obviously very badly hurt, probably beaten by a blunt object or fists. She couldn't help but feel bad for him as grimaced in pain every time the car hit a bump, he was still trying to keep up a strong face. She was surprised when she noticed that it had already been two hours and the boys had decided to change drivers. Gordie switched with a _very_ hyperactive Vern. Apparently, this was also the opportunity for the boys to take a piss break.

"Audrey, you stay here," Gordie said, for obvious reasons.

"Hell no, I **am** not staying here by myself!" Audrey objected. It was dark, and being alone in the dark was one of Audrey's top fears.

"She can stay in the car with me," Chris offered.

Teddy spoke up, "Hey, why does the babe get to stay with you?"

Audrey blushed uncharacteristically as Chris replied, "Because your intentions aren't honest."

After the boys headed out into a field to take care of business, the weird noises of the deserted highway scared Audrey into scooting unnaturally close to Chris . Her fear of the dark was making her scared and paranoid of the every little sound out side of the car. Even Teddy's familiar laughing as he attempted to piss on Gordie's leg sounded like a hyena's cackling to Audrey.

"Audrey, if you got any closer to me, you'd be having sex with me," Chris noted, eying her from where he sat near the window.

"Would not!" She exclaimed and heard another 'weird' noise. She jumped and wrapped her arms around his waist simultaneously.

"Ow!" Chris exclaimed, "Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

"No," She said, sheepishly.

"Then what are you doing, exactly?" He asked, turning his body towards hers as she retained her death grip on his body. She blushed, again, and looked away ashamed.

"I'm afraid of the dark," She murmured.

"Is that all?" He asked, his breathing labored suddenly. She was hugging him in a heavily bruised area, and realizing that he was recently beaten, she pulled her arms back to her own body and scooted away a few inches. She nodded, slowly.

They stared at each other. "So, are you going to tell me who did this to you, or not?"

Chris scooted closer to her in return, and wrapped an arm around her thin waist, "I already told you what happened. I fell down the stairs."

She accepted his arm around her with some skpeticsm, "Yeah, and I'm Jacquelyn Kennedy."

"Leave it alone, Audrey," Chris told her as they separated again. At only 17 years old, Chris was as stubborn as an old mule. Audrey sighed and glanced out the window, noticing that the others began heading back towards the car. Maybe she could sweet talk him into the truth at a later date.


	9. Chapter 9

_Cause You Were Here_

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Oh, isn't that just adorable," Teddy cackled as he eyed Audrey and Chris' obviously cozy spooning. Audrey's head was on Chris' shoulder and he had an arm wrapped around her protectively. She was shivering as Chris opened his eyes to see Teddy staring at them under scrutiny. "Why are you two so lovey-dovey?"

"She was cold," Chris replied unenthused and still in pain from the evening before. The girl sitting next to him stirred and blinked open her eyes.

"Ace?" She questioned. Clearly, she was confused as to where she was and why she was there.

"Chris," He replied and smiled. She was too beautiful not to smile at, even if she had just called him another guy's name.

"Oh," She replied, "That's right. Sorry, Chris."

They were still on the road with Gordie behind the wheel. It was an unusually bright autumn morning, and the vast expanse in front of them seemed to lead to the ocean. In fact, the massive, dark blue entity was visible in the distance.

"Great, we're almost there," Chris murmured to himself as he stretched. If all went as planned, Audrey and Ace wouldn't last too much longer.

"Hey, why haven't you or Teddy drove yet?" Audrey asked, curiously. She was sitting as far away from Chris as physically possible. He wondered momentarily if he smelled bad, before Gordie went into the story about why exactly Teddy wasn't _allowed_ to drive anymore.

"Last time we let Teddy drive was right after he got his license," Gordie began, "Vern was in the cab with Teddy, with Chris and me in the bed of this old, beat up truck his Mom got him."

"Uncle Robert, actually, but close enough," Teddy shrugged.

"And he was driving through Castle Rock. It was fine at first, but then he started speeding and we discovered he was racing some of Ace's friends. He slammed on the breaks at 100 mph, giving me a concussion, breaking three of Chris' ribs, and crushing Vern's left collar bone. After that the three of us agreed that we will **never** let Teddy drive us anywhere _ever_ again."

"Yeah, yeah! It's not my fault that there was a train coming!" Teddy defended.

"And Chris isn't driving, because he doesn't want to," Gordie replied.

"Aw," Audrey mocked, "Big Chambers boy is too stubborn to drive."

"Shut up, Audrey," He replied as the station wagon came to a stop.

Audrey's eyes shifted their attention to the windshield where she noticed a long stretch of beach and a blue ocean. It shocked her so much that the only thing she could muster was, "Are we still in Oregon?"

"Yup," Vern nodded, "Isn't it great?"

"Uh huh," She said, opening the door as if in a trance. Taking off her hat, she headed onto the beach as if in a trance. She had never seen the ocean, after all, and the new experience seemed to have a dream-like quality. From the sound of the waves to the sensation of sea-salt spray, everything was glamorous, brilliant.

"How do you guys know about this?" She asked quietly as the breeze ruffled her black hair.

"My parents brought me here, once, after Denny died," Gordon said, his volume decreasing with the realization of what he was saying.

"Denny? That was your brother, right?" Audrey asked, curiously.

He nodded, "Did Ace tell you about him?"

"No, he didn't. Charlie Hogan mentioned him in passing once or twice," She replied, "I'm sorry."

"That's okay," He replied. She noticed Vern and Teddy running towards the ocean, stripping off their shirts, pants, shoes and socks. "I wonder if they realize how cold the water is."

"Probably not," Audrey replied, smirking as their squeals of surprise disrupted the seagulls' relentless squawking and the sounds of the waves rushing onto the shore.

"Come on! The water's f-f-fine!" Vern called to Chris, Audrey, and Gordie. They approached the shore, and while Gordie and Chris were all too willing to join by stripping and staggering their way into the ocean, Audrey refused. She had, at most, taken off her shoes and socks, letting her toes squish into the damp sand and sat down with her jeans rolled up to her knees.

"Oh, no no! I am _not_ getting in there! It's **too** cold!"

"You don't even know what it feels like," Teddy countered, "You haven't even _touched_ the water."

"I'm not getting in!" She yelled. That's when Chris started stalking out of water. At first, he seemed harmless - then, he began coming curiously close to her. Audrey ran away with Chris chasing her. Of course, it only took a matter of minutes to catch her and carry her into the sea. "That wasn't fair!" She sputtered at Chris who shrugged innocently in reply.

Her navy blue t-shirt clung to her body, enhancing every curve and crevice, which did not go unnoticed by Chris, and her jeans were being forced down to her knees by the sheer force of gravity caused by the extra weight of the water that drenched them. She should have swam after him, should have at least _attempted_ to do something in revenge, but she didn't.

She pulled her now wet hair into a pony tail with the elastic she kept around her wrist and struggled towards the shore. She plopped into the sand, not caring that she would be ridden with it until she got back into the water or changed her clothes. It was only a matter of minutes before she felt someone standing over her, staring as the waves rushed over her calves. She didn't need to open her eyes to know who it was.

_**Christopher. **_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to try and defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note; **This has been re-written to improve not only grammar and style but story line as well. If you are a dedicated reader of this story, you may want to re-read through the story since the relationship with Ace is a tad different and the development of the relationship with Chris has also changed. Also, Audrey's story has been delved into more, and her character has changed in a few ways.

* * *

**Chapter Ten **

"Come for a walk with me," Chris offered, still standing over her, obstructing the warm rays of the sun.

Audrey opened her eyes to see the attractive young man staring down at her. She saw several bruises on his body at different stages. Some were fresh - purple, dark blue, charcoal - while others were very old, almost skin toned but still holding on to a tinge of sickly yellow. She could tell that he was probably always sore. She stuck out a hand, "Help me up."

He pulled her up easily, and the two escaped from the rest of their friends and started walking down the beach. They strolled in silence for a few minutes before Audrey finally spoke up, "What do you want to tell me, Christopher?"

"Ace _isn't_ good for you."

She sighed, loftily, "Everyone keeps telling me that. My parents, you, Gordie, even Maggie and the other girls tell me that though Ace is _quite_ easy on the eyes, he'll hurt me and blah, blah, blah. I don't care, okay?"

Chris stared back at her, "You don't understand, Audrey. He doesn't care about you. He doesn't love you, and I know that it hurts to hear it, but he doesn't. The only person Ace cares about is himself. You should know that before you get too far in."

"Chris, I already told you _I don't care_. Ace is who he is; I knew that from the first second I laid eyes on him. I'm not just going to up and change my mind about liking him because you tell me to."

"Just ... hear me out," He said, carefully. He could tell that there was anger building in her veins, and he didn't want to risk her getting agitated and running off on him. She just needed to hear what he was trying to tell her; it was important regardless of whether she wanted to listen to it or not.

"Fine," She replied, swallowing the anger, "Then tell me what happened to you."

"Why do you have to be so damned difficult?"

"I don't know; why do _you_?"

They stared at each other for a long time before either of them spoke again. The crash of the waves prevented them from hearing Teddy, Vern, and Gordie in the ocean almost a mile away from them. They seemed much farther to Audrey, who was admittedly embarrassed of the way she was acting. The thing was that she _was_ falling for Chris, and she had known she liked him since that first day of school.

"He's _cheating_ on you," Chris replied.

She blinked at him, slowly absorbing the words he had spoken. Her throat felt dry as she managed to croak out a one-word response, "What?"

"The night before last, for the first time in God knows _how_ long, Eyeball comes home. Dad wasn't too happy about that, but then Eyeball starts talking about how he and Ace had picked up these two blonde 'babes' from the Pool Hall last night. I'm not going to go into the details that he did, because you're a lady, but it wasn't pleasant. When I asked if Eyeball was sure it _wasn't_ you, he got pissed off."

"Is that the reason for all the bruises?"

"Not entirely," Chris admitted, "But why should I tell _you_? You probably think I'm lying to you."

But, Audrey barely got any of that - she could feel the tears building behind the ducts and was trying with every ounce of energy that she possessed to not let them fall. When she couldn't fight them off anymore, and Chris noticed that she was crying, he took her in his arms and let her cry into his chest.

"It'll be okay," He promised and kissed her head. He knew that it _wouldn't_ be okay, but he knew that was what she needed to hear.

----

"I thought Audrey said she was staying with that nice girl from down the street," Allen told his wife at around the same time that Audrey and Chris were waking up that morning.

"She is," Georgina replied, not bothering to look up from the bacon she was frying for her husband.

Allen stood, thinking for a moment, "I swear I thought I saw her and Ace getting something to eat at the diner last night."

His wife looked up, and glanced over at her husband, "Oh?"

".. No, wait, come to think of it, that young lady was a blonde."

"Ace was out with another girl last night?" She replied.

"Apparently so," Allen replied, "They were with another couple, too."

"Do you think Audrey knows?"

"We can only wait and ask her when she gets home. She did tell me that she was going to the movies in Portland this afternoon and might not be back till late."

"I never liked that boy," Allen said, "He reminds me too much of Dean and that whole mess in Phoenix."

Georgina nodded as she pulled the bacon from the skillet and put in the hash browns. She wrapped the plate of bacon in aluminum foil to keep it warm, "I believe that Ace is worse than Dean. At least Dean was courteous to our daughter, Ace disrespects her every chance he gets. But what can we do?"

"I know Audrey doesn't like being told how to make her decisions. Maybe one of her new friends can convince her that he's bad news," He replied, unfolding the newspaper.

"I kind of doubt that, Allen. She's never been one to follow the crowd," She replied, "I suppose she gets that from me."

"Don't blame yourself, love," He stated, "You were the best mother any girl could hope for. Maybe, with the new times, Audrey will finally find a way to fit in."

----

"It won't," She told him, "It won't be okay."

Chris looked down at Audrey, "I know."

"Then why did you say that it would be?"

"Because I knew that it was what you needed to hear then."

She smiled briefly, "You're too good to be my friend, Chambers."

He grinned down at her sadly, "Don't say that."

They turned around and started walking back towards their friends, "Is it going to be hard?"

Audrey looked up at Chris, "Is what going to be hard?"

"Breaking up with Ace."

"I never said I was going to break up with him," She replied.

Chris stared at her, wondering exactly how dumb a girl could get, "He's not worth it."

"No?"

Chris shook his head, wishing he could knock some sense into her and sensing that he couldn't.

"We'll see," She replied and then took off in a sprint, tackling Gordie at the other end of the beach.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **I do not own 'Stand By Me' or the characters who belong to Mr. Stephen King.  
**Author's Note:** R&R? Enjoy!

* * *

Audrey closed the door quietly behind her as Chris and Gordie sped off back towards Gordie's. She took a few steps up the stairs, but she heard her mother's voice beckoning her into the kitchen. Audrey's head hung; the jig was up, she was going to be grounded until she was forty-three. Though if she were grounded, she thought, it would be a blessing; after all, she wouldn't have to deal with Ace or Chris. She turned around and headed into the well-lit kitchen. She looked at her parents, feigning innocence as best as she could.

"Were you with Ace at all this weekend?" Her mother asked her, cautiously.

"No, I was with Maggie and..." The younger Schmitt woman replied.

"Well, then there's something you should know," Her father began, "Ace was out with another girl."

Audrey wanted to sigh in relief but held back and settled for a nod in her father's directions, "One of my friends mentioned that."

"And what are you planning on doing about this?" Her father weighed his voice evenly, but Audrey had known him for seventeen years and knew that he was angry. His face was turning a light shade of red as she stood there staring back at him.

She sighed loftily, "Does it matter?"

"Yes, it matters! For Christ's sake, Audrey, do you have _any_ respect for yourself?" Her father yelled at her; his calm facade was finally breaking. She noticed her mother slipping away into the master bedroom.

She remained silent, "You could always move me to Canada. I heard that they're aren't nearly as many men up there." It was a sarcastic and catty reply.

"This is about Dean, isn't it Audrey? Ace is just some kind of revenge – this is your revenge on us for taking you away from him, is that it?" Her father asked. He had known this since she had began going 'steady' with Ace months before. For some reason, he just wanted to hear her say the words that would confirm that.

"Does Ace look like the type of boy that I could fool like that? Does he seem the type, father?" She questioned, "Ace isn't stupid."

"Then why do you keep dating these types of boys?" Her father asked confused, "Didn't we raise you better than that?"

"There was nothing wrong with Dean," She replied and left the kitchen. She couldn't risk getting grounded. After all, she had to see Ace... Ace, and Christopher.

---

"How did you get up here?" Chris asked as Audrey climbed through the window a few days later.

She sighed, "I climbed up the drain, but that's not important. Would you do me a favor?"

It had been weeks since Chris had even seen Audrey outside of school. She had not been with Ace at any of his usual hang-outs and when Chris managed to ease-drop on Eyeball, he didn't like what he heard. Eyeball told Charlie Hogan that he found it strange that Audrey hadn't been around. When Charlie asked if it was possible that they just 'broke up', Eyeball said they hadn't. Audrey was just gone.

"What is it?" He asked, skeptically, "Want me to pretend to be Ace?"

"What? No!" She responded quickly, "Would you take a walk with me?"

"Just a walk?"

"Well, a walk and to make sure nothing terrible happens to me."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"To the pool hall so that I can break up with John," She said. In all the time she had known him, Audrey had never referred to Ace by his real name. She had never heard anyone else call him John, either.

"You're breaking up with Ace?" Chris asked, bewildered. She had been adamant before that she wasn't going to. "What made you change your mind?"

She rolled her eyes, "Will you help me or not?"

"Of course," Chris replied.

It wasn't that far of a walk from the Chambers residence to the Pool Hall. Audrey didn't even have to go inside - Ace was sitting in his car with Eyeball. Chris stayed a few feet behind, ducking behind a large elm tree, as Audrey approached them.

"Ace?" She called.

'The hell have you been?" Ace asked, turning his head.

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't?" He asked, suspiciously, "It matters _to me_."

"It shouldn't - after all, you've been having all kinds of fun without me around."

"Who told you?" Ace hopped out of his car and approached her, slowly.

"It's not important."

"Who. Told. You."

Audrey could tell Ace's temper better than anyone, and though he was annoyed he wasn't going to hurt her. She shook her head and took a few steps back, just in case.

"If it was–"

"No, Ace." She said, firmly, "My father saw you and another girl at the diner. He thought it best that he told me."

A lengthy, heated conversation about how Ace never suspected Audrey to be much of a Daddy's Girl, especially since they had sex almost every time they saw each other, ensued. He hurled insults at her, as well as told her that he only dated her because he felt sorry for her. Audrey was a strong girl, and she barely felt the need to yell back at him or cry. When he said that he was glad that he didn't have to touch her anymore Audrey replied with, "Well, that's your prerogative, Ace. Have a nice ... life."

Then she turned and walked away. Ace fumed as she walked back down the street from whence she came, pleased with herself. It felt _surprisingly_ delightful to finally rid herself of Ace Merrill. Maybe the truth about Audrey was that she had only loved Ace to spite her parents. It was a dreadful thought, and as soon as it came into her mind, Audrey flushed it away.

---

"Was it hard?" Maggie asked Audrey the next day as they sat together in Home Economics, a class still required for all girls to take in Castle Rock.

The raven-haired girl looked over at her 'friend' with a raised brow, "To make French Onion Soup?"

Maggie laughed, "No. Who cares about the soup? Tell me all about it."

"All about _what_? I don't have any idea of what your talking about." Audrey replied, annoyed. It had not been a good day for her. Her mind was not, admittedly, on how to make French onion soup, but rather on how _stupid _some people could be. Namingly, her classmates. Specifically, Christopher.

"To break up with Ace. He's told just about everybody about it!" Maggie explained. She seemed more giggly than usual.

"Oh, no. I didn't think so." Audrey said as she stirred the contents of the pot. Unbeknownst to her, she was doing this in more than one way.

Maggie was beaming. Audrey wondered why, "Do you have an affinity for Ace that I'm not aware of?"

"An.... OH!" She exclaimed. It was lucky for them that the teacher was absent-minded and did not care whether not you were talking in her class, so long as you didn't burn the building down you could do as you pleased. "No, it's just that..." Maggie looked around skeptically. The class mostly consisted of Freshman and Sophomores, which once again made Audrey wonder what Maggie was getting at. Freshman girls knew better than to gossip about their upper-classmen counterparts.

"It's just that Ace asked me out on a date. It's okay with you that I go isn't it?"

Audrey laughed, "Suit yourself."

"Why are you laughing at me?" Maggie looked hurt, so Audrey relied on her lying skills to make her feel better.

"I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at the fact that you'd ask me if it was okay," She smiled sweetly, "There's no reason for you to ask me. Ace and I aren't involved any more."

Maggie looked horrified and Audrey sighed, "Soup's done." She turned her attention to where the teacher was standing, "Mrs. Riviera, can you come here for a moment please?"

With the teacher at their side, Maggie could no longer talk to Audrey about Ace. Audrey had better things to think about. As class and the school day ended, Audrey was surprised that Maggie wanted to spend time with her. They walked home together, heading down their street as Maggie chatted about school and dating. It wasn't until she brought up Chris that Audrey even thought of paying attention to her.

"What was that?" Audrey asked, glancing over at her friend.

Maggie rolled her eyes, "I said that it's a shame Chris wound up in that family. Though, he's been acting more and more like Richard lately."

"Why would _Chris_ be acting like Eyeball of all people?" Audrey asked. It was directed more to herself than to Maggie, but Maggie had input anyway. Audrey began to remember why she didn't have any girlfriends when Maggie got long-winded once more.

They arrived at Maggie's house, and Audrey was surprised when Maggie stopped and turned to look at Audrey.

"Would you mind coming over Saturday, before our date, to help me get ready?"

Audrey shrugged, "I suppose I could–"

Maggie squealed in joy and hugged Audrey, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Audrey laughed as backed away, "See you tomorrow." She headed back to her house and in a few short minutes she found herself staring at a conference of women that were the same age as her own mother.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**; I do not own Stand By Me, or any Characters related to it or to the original Novella 'The Body' by Stephen King. I'm pretty sure that the master of horror himself owns said properties, and I'm not going to even start to try and defy that. I do, however, own Audrey - her parents Alan and Georgina and any other random OCs throughout this tale.

**Author's Note:** This story is coming to a close. There is only one more chapter left, and an epilogue. Maybe three chapters, if I'm feeling particularly inspired in the next few weeks.

* * *

Horrified, Audrey took a few steps backwards and closed the door. The women had been staring at her skeptically and didn't find it odd at all that Audrey avoided entering the living room. The raven-haired seventeen year old looked around the neighborhood, thought about going back to Maggie's, and decided that a visit with Christopher was needed more. After putting her books on the back porch, Audrey headed to the Chambers' residence.

After the somewhat long walk, Audrey found herself staring up at Chris' bedroom window. The only thing that prevented her from crawling up the drainpipe, as she had before, was the fact that she could hear the eldest Chambers male bellowing from within the dingy house. To her surprise, however, Chris' father was screaming at Eyeball who screamed back almost as loudly. Deciding that Chris was probably in his room, after all, Audrey started the climb.

When she pushed open the bedroom window, Chris didn't even glance up at her, "What're you doing here?"

"How did you know it was me?"

Chris propped himself up on one elbow, "You're the only one I know who would risk their health in order to see me while Rich and Dad are fighting."

Audrey stared at the gorgeous boy in front of her as he smoked a cigarette. He was not looking at her as he inhaled; rather he was staring at the brown carpet beneath her feet. She sighed as she walked over to his bed and sat down next to him. She was shocked when he pulled away after she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Can't you just go away?"

"I could, but I think they've moved to the yard," She replied, lightly. "Why have you been avoiding me at school?"

"I haven't been," Chris replied.

"Uh-huh. When was the last time you spoke to me? Hell, when was the last time you looked at me?" She asked. Audrey was determined to find out what had been eating at Chris for the past few weeks. Since the day she told Ace that she didn't want to be his girlfriend anymore, Chris had all but completely ignored her existence. He hadn't even waited for her to get done speaking with Ace that day - he had left and had not even told her why the next day at school. Worst of all, Christopher seemed to be in a constant bad mood which only put Audrey into a bad mood, too.

Chris turned and looked at her indignantly, "I'm looking at you right now, happy?"

"Why are you–"

"Leave." Chris said, putting out the stub of the cigarette that lingered between his fingers, "_Now_."

Audrey stared at him - her blue eyes a dark color that Chris did not recognize from the short time that he could call her his friend - and without much thinking involved, she slapped him.

"OW! What the hell was that for?"

"You're being an ass." She replied, as she felt angry tears on their way. She got up; ready to leave through the window from whence she came, but felt herself being stopped. She turned around, "Let me go."

And then, Chris did something Audrey never expected him to - he kissed her. To his own surprise, Chris found Audrey kissing him back. She wrapped her thin arms around his neck as he pulled her closer. A few moments and a bit of heavy breathing later, Audrey smiled softly at Chris and said: "You've got to be the moodiest boy I know, Chris Chambers."

"How is this?" Maggie asked, strutting from the bathroom which connected to her bedroom in a short navy dress with wide straps that dropped into a low scoop neck. She had been pretty and voluptuous to begin with, but now she was a whole different class of girl. Her long hair was curled, most of the tendrils cascading down her back in a blonde waterfall. Her wide, green eyes seemed bigger still.

Audrey simply did not know what to say to her, so she settled on the truth, "Ace will love it."

"Are you sure you don't want to come along? We're only going to the pool hall—" Maggie offered. Her nerves were so apparent to Audrey that she almost burst out into hysterics. Ace would have had a fit.

'_If only she knew the real Ace,_' Audrey thought once she was convinced her laughter wouldn't escape from her lips. "No, no. You go have fun with John – ooops, I mean Ace. Stay away from Charlie if he gets too drunk though, he's a bit… well, grabby."

Maggie smiled slightly at Audrey who simply shrugged as she heard the familiar sound of Ace's 'baby' pull up. "Thank you, Audrey."

"No need to thank me Maggie," Audrey began, "Better get going, Ace isn't known for his patience." And with that, Maggie disappeared out of her bedroom. As soon as Audrey was sure that they were gone, she made her way down the street back into her own house.

Her father was sitting in the living room with the Saturday evening paper, while her mother was fixing supper in the kitchen. It smelled like roast beef, Audrey's favorite, and when she went in to ask her mother what was for dinner she was pleasantly surprised that her nose had not deceived her.

"Is your friend still coming over, dear?" Her mother asked pleasantly. Things had changed since she had broken up with Ace; her parents seemed infinitely happier with their daughter, and she felt happier about being their daughter. She and her father had not fought in almost three weeks. And in that time she had decided that the next time she was interested in someone, she would let her parents meet him first. Of course, they had not known that this would be so soon after Ace.

It was not only with her parents that things had changed, however. While Chris had grown distant, Vern and Teddy began to slowly disappear into the halls as just two more faces in the crowd. Of course, she could still pick out Teddy's laugh from two football fields away, and Vern would occasionally require locker-assistance, but other than that she felt as if she had lost two very good friends very quickly. Gordie still talked to her quite frequently, although he never broached the subject of Chris or Ace, and he promised that one day she could read his stories. That promise had yet to come to fruition.

Christopher, who had been as much a pain in the ass for her as Ace had been, had finally gotten up the courage to tell her that he was still afraid; this fact stunned Audrey. After a lengthy conversation that day she broke into Chris' bedroom, she felt like she knew a lot more about Chris. He felt much the same way about her, as well, and he was the "friend" who was coming over for dinner.

"Better go get ready, dear. He's supposed to be here soon." Her father interrupted her train of thought.

---

"I'm surprised," Audrey told Chris as they sat on her back porch that night. It was nearing ten, but when her father came to tell Chris he had to go, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He went back in to tell his wife that they could have another thirty minutes – it wouldn't hurt anything, would it? His wife supposed it wouldn't.

"About what?" Chris asked lazily as he leaned back on his palms.

She leaned back too, and shrugged, "I didn't think that they would like you quite that much."

"Why not? I thought I was charming," He replied, looking over at her as he sat back up. She followed once again, and he extended an arm so she could slip beside him. He closed the arm around her as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

She had never told him about Dean, had never wanted to, but felt that she needed to now, and replied, "There was a boy in Phoenix, and they hated him."

"Well, that's descriptive, Drey," Chris replied.

"His name was Dean," She started, "He wasn't really bad, I mean he wasn't Ace-"

Chris laughed at this and interjected, "There aren't many Ace Merrills in the world, I would hope."

"But he had a thing for cars – or he _stole _a lot of cars, and we liked each other a lot. My parents thought we liked each other too much, and they moved out here so that I couldn't see him anymore."

"That why you dated Ace?" Chris asked.

She nodded against his shoulder, and figured he had wondered that for a long, long time. Audrey guessed that a lot of people wondered that. Maggie was one thing – she had grown up in Castle Rock where there were slim pickings as far as attractive boys went – but Audrey had grown up somewhere that was bigger, and some had thought she was smarter than Ace deserved.

"I don't steal cars, that could have something to do with it," Chris joked, good-humoredly, "I bet I'm better looking than that Dean guy, too."

Audrey smiled slyly, "Mm, I don't know about that Chris."

He looked down at her, one brow raised even though she couldn't see it, and he lay down on the wooden floor of the enclosed porch forcing her down with him. Now, with half his body atop hers, he looked down at her warningly.

"Just kidding," She said, and he kissed her softly. She kissed back, and heard a throat clearing close by. They both sat up, and then stood. Chris headed towards the screen door that led to the Schmitt's backyard, "Night Chris."

"Goodnight, Audrey."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: **All that is left of this story is an epilogue, just, you know, as a head's up. However, I have been turning one or two one-shots over in my mind for the future that are related to this story or at least related to _Stand By Me_ / _The Body_.  
**Disclaimer: **As always, I don't own jack-shit.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Graduation is in two weeks, Audrey! Two weeks!" Gordie exclaimed with the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.

Audrey laughed, "I'm aware of this, Gordo. I've been counting the days."

"Have you decided where you're going to go, yet?" He asked, more serious and grave now.

Her parent wanted her to go to Oregon State _very_ badly, but she didn't feel particularly compelled to do so. She brought up the point that Oregon State was not exactly known for its photography program and that she would very much like to be photographer, but her parents didn't seem to grasp this fact. Chris had been accepted to UCLA, Oregon State, as well as a few others that Audrey couldn't really remember. She wanted to go to California, but wouldn't dare tell her parents that until she was sure.

Audrey shook her head, "Chris decided yet?"

"California, probably," Chris answered for himself as he entered the mathematics classroom, "Have your parents budged yet?"

She shook her head, "They're as deluded as ever."

Chris laughed lightly, but by then class was beginning. After a dreadfully dull discussion about what jobs there were in store for any future mathematicians, the class was over for the day. Dull or not, Audrey couldn't help but feel sort of sad. It was something of a dismay to think that just when she was making friends, _real_ friends, she was going to lose them. Castle Rock was a place where kids generally grew up knowing that they would never escape – Chris Chambers had been one of those, as well as Ace Merrill had been, but had been somehow convinced otherwise. Gordie LaChance had also felt this way – but with the help of Chris would be off to a noteworthy college the next fall with or without his parents blessing.

Unlike Gordon, however, Audrey couldn't go anywhere without the support of her own parents. It would only cause a rift where she had just been beginning to close it. In the end, she hoped that her parents would understand. If she had to, Audrey would blame the Oregon weather – growing up in Phoenix, she had hardly been adjusted to cold winters and short summers. She would tell them she didn't think she would survive another winter, and would remind them of her pneumonia early that winter.

"Audrey, are you in there?" Chris' voice came to her ears, probing her thoughts. She looked up at him with her blue eyes and nodded.

"Just thinking, dear," She said as he wrapped an arm around her.

---

The raven-haired eighteen-year-old entered her parents' home somewhat unsurely. She smelled the chicken pot pie in the oven before she saw it, and knew her father was not having a good day. Her mother only spent this much time on a meal when her father was having a bad day. Without even attempting to build up her wits, Audrey decided to save the California discussion for another day. Whatever happened was more important, probably, than something that was not to happen for another few months.

Audrey glanced out into the backyard – Alan was gardening, and her mother was sitting on a lawn chair with a few envelopes beside her. Audrey knew what they were – acceptance or denial letters from the various universities she had applied to – and also knew that all of them had been carefully studied in the intense summer sunlight.

Neither of them looked particularly upset. She stepped quietly out onto the screened-in back porch after glancing at the clock. It was a Friday, and she knew that Chris would be at her house sooner or later. He always was. Her father looked up from his garden and saw her standing there.

"Well, come on out, Audrey," Her father called, motioning her to him. She obeyed, walking silently out into the yard. He was smiling at her; apparently, Audrey had been accepted to several colleges. "Sit down, dear. Your mother and I would like to talk to you about college."

Audrey sat beside her father as he had asked and her mother came over, too. "You've been accepted for almost everywhere you've written to, dear."

Audrey had expected such; her parents, however, had not. They were in such a good mood, in fact, that they had decided they would let their daughter go wherever she pleased. They suspected California would be the case – they knew Chris was going to go there long before Drey herself was 100% clear on the topic – and didn't particularly mind.

"So, are you going to UCLA, or what?" Her father asked, impatient. It was not the only thing he had on his mind.

Alan and Georgina were relatively young parents – only in their middle-thirties – and were eager to be parents again. Fortunately for them, they were going to be by the middle of the next year. It was a very exciting year for the Schmitt family.

Audrey stared at her father confused. He hadn't wanted her to go there a week before, and she couldn't help but wonder what had changed in a week. She nodded slowly at her father, answering his question and preparing for a reaming all the same, but it was about then that Chris was spotted by her mother.

"Hello, Christopher." Her mother's voice echoed into the empty yard. Drey looked up and shot Chris a pleasant smile, "Why don't you join us?"

"… Georgina." Alan said, his voice reflecting a warning tone that Audrey had heard one too many times for her own liking.

Her light-haired mother looked at him, unaffected by her husband's tone, "I don't think Christopher is going anywhere for a long time, Alan."

Chris took a seat beside Audrey unsurely. He knew he smelled like cigarettes, but hoped that they would pass it off on his father's bad habits, not his own. The youngest pair of the four stared at the eldest questioning them silently. With a happy smile, Georgina placed a hand on her stomach and held her husband's hand. Audrey knew what was coming then; her parents were not aware of how truly perceptive she really was.

"I'm going to have a brother or sister, aren't I?" Audrey asked, though she was not as surprised as she perhaps should have been. Audrey had known for a long time that her parents wanted other children, and had figured they had been trying.

Audrey was honestly quite glad that they were going to have another one; she was not going to have to go through the jealousy of sharing her parents as many other children with siblings had to, because she would already be out of state when the baby came. That was why her parents were alright with her going to California now, but weren't two weeks ago.

---

"Well, that was awkward," Chris said as they walked toward the tree-house that Chris, Gordie, Vern and Teddy had spent most of their childhood summers in. There were good memories there, happy times of childhood friends, but Chris knew that that leg of his life was gone and he was going on to the next. In California, they would make new memories and good times. Of that, Chris was positive.

"Tell me about it," Audrey laughed as they plopped down into the soft, tan dirt below the big oak tree. "I didn't expect that they would tell me something like that in front of you. They _must_ be in a good mood."

Chris smiled, "Speaking of good moods, I was surprised they agreed to let you go to California with me."

"They **told** me to go to California with you. It was totally unexpected," She replied. Chris wrapped an arm around Audrey's slender shoulders and kissed her temple. With Chris, Audrey felt the more accepted than she had at any other time in her life.

"Well, dear, what are we going to do to celebrate our impending graduation," She asked, curiously. There were several things she could think of, but of all of them, she never expected Chris' response.

Chris responded, "I'm sure we'll think of something." His eyebrows raised slightly, a smile on his face, she knew what she was thinking.

"Chris Chambers!" She exclaimed, "You're not allowed to _objectify_ me."

He laughed and kissed her, "We'll get together with LaChance and make our way out to the beach again or something. Maybe head for Portland."

She smiled, "That's better."

---

"Audrey Michelle Schmitt," A loud, authoritarian voice echoed over the crowd. Audrey approached the podium. She was handed her diploma and made her way to the rest of her graduating class.

She looked around and realized that she was going on a whole new journey and she couldn't wait to start. In only a week she would be heating to Portland for a week with Gordie, Chris, and Maggie. Maggie had learned soon enough exactly what kind of guy Ace Merrill was, and was quickly heartbroken. Audrey was never quite sure of how it happened, but Maggie had turned to Gordie for comfort. He had happily obliged.

Chris, Gordie, and Audrey had all attempted to get Vern and Teddy together to go to Portland with them, but it seemed an impossibility. Teddy had gotten a job for the summer, and Vern was being forced to spend time with his parents until he, too, found work. So, it was only going to be the four of them. After that, however, Audrey knew as well as Chris did, that they would grow apart from Gordie, too. He was going off to an East Coast school, one more suited to the liberal arts; they would be at polar opposites of the land of the free. And she would miss Gordie LaChance when they lost touch, just like she knew Chris would.

"Well, Drey, we made it out of that shit-hole alive," Chris began, hugging his girlfriend. He was still wearing the black graduation robe, but the cap had long been discarded. They were laying in a messy pile on the front lawn of their high school. A whole two-hundred forty-odd students had thrown their caps into the sky and watched with some awe as they came fluttering back down.

She kissed his cheek, "Sure did. Surprising, too, considering everything."

Soon, Gordie was at their side, Maggie close behind. In the times later on in life, Audrey would miss moments such as this most. She would miss the comradery, the love people can only have for each other when they're young.

---

Audrey looked around the small, dingy apartment outside of downtown L.A. in something that she was sure resembled awe. It reminded her of boarding schools, of Dean, of Phoenix; but at the same time, it reminded her of none of those things. Her parents were no longer going to try and control her life, in fact, no one was going to. As disgusting as the apartment seemed to her then, she loved it all the same.

Hearing the setting down of bags, she turned around to see Chris looking very weary. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, "We're home, baby."

She smiled and walked up to him. She kissed him lightly and replied, "We sure are."

---


	14. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **As always, I don't own _Stand By Me _or Stephen King's novella _The Body_.  
**Author's Note: **Here's the epilogue - the last chapter of this fan fiction which I had fun writing.

* * *

_Dear Gordie, _

_It's funny, the only thing that can make two people come together after years of having lost touch is a wedding or a funeral. Unfortunately, the latter is true for us. I know I could have just called, but I can't so much as think about what happened without bursting out into tears. I know it's been less than two weeks, but it feels like a lifetime. How much I miss him is almost unbearable, but I'd rather not talk about me right now. _

_I wanted to let you know that I heard you were writing a book about that summer you went to find the dead boy, the summer that John, and Vern, and Chris, and Teddy constantly spoke of when we were all still friends. I'm glad that you are writing it, and if you ever need anything don't hesitate to call and ask. _

_And now, I've run out of things to say. I guess I just wanted to "talk" to someone who knew Chris as well as I did. _

_ Yours, _

_ Audrey C. _

---

Ace Merrill sat at the local bar, his back to the door of the bar, a glass of beer within his grasp. He was fat now, and old. The aging process had visibly not agreed with him, and though he was not even fifty he felt much older. He took a swallow of his beer, and listened uninterested to the man next to him. Charlie Hogan had turned into the most dull person in the world post-1968. In fact, everyone in Castle Rock seemed to have lost any charm they might have had to Ace.

He heard the bell above the door ring and turned out of habit to see who it was. He nearly pissed himself as he caught a glimpse of the still pretty, raven-haired woman who he had lost so many years before. What was more, he wondered what the hell she was doing in Oregon. Her parents and younger sibling had long since moved back to Arizona, and last he'd heard, she hadn't kept in touch with most of her class mates.

She had moved to California for college, and later on to Boston or Salem or New York so that her then-boyfriend and later husband could go on to Law School.

"_Fucking Chambers_," Ace thought bitterly as Audrey approached the bar and ordered a drink that she didn't look like she could handle. She didn't even recognize him as he turned to her, still ignoring Charlie, and smiled slowly.

Truth be told, Ace Merrill had always had a soft spot for Audrey. Even after she left for college, even as she married his best friend's younger brother. He was somewhat pleased that she had not aged the way he had, but he was also bitter. Incredibly bitter. He also wondered where Chris was, since he had drank himself stupid the night Rich had told him that Chris had been stabbed to death in a restaurant.

Audrey turned, glanced at the older, fatter Ace Merrill and then turned back. After a moment or so of thinking, she turned back again. "Well, your habits haven't changed any Ace," She said, her voice not missing a beat though he could tell that she was upset. The fact that he could read her like most people could read a book was one of the things that was so endearing about Audrey to Ace. He liked a girl he could read.

"Yours have," He replied, and she was almost relieved to hear that his tone, his voice, had not changed.

"Sure have," She replied and left, the shot of Whiskey in hand.

---

In the hours prior to the bar, Audrey had seen many faces from the past. Teddy DuChamp, for example led a simple, and sad, life. He could never get into the military, and spent his life in Castle Rock as a handy man. Audrey passed him on her way to the Chambers residence two days earlier. He was painting the awning of a diner that hadn't been there when Audrey had been. Still skinny as a rail, and he still had that hyena-laugh of his. The familiarity of it had a comforting feel to it.

She had not yet been graced with Vern Tessio's presence, and suspected she wouldn't. Vern was married with more than a few kids. He was busy in his family life, and Audrey respected that enough not to bother him. The news of Chris' death would spread quick enough, and she didn't particularly feel like she had to alert every single friend Chris had ever had to his death personally. So she wouldn't.

When she had gotten to the Chambers' residence, she expected what she was given. General disrespect, a lot of "we don't care our family member is dead," even more "you shouldn't have come here, miz ivy league." She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from reminding them that it was Chris who had went to an Ivy League college, not herself. Richard was the only one who seemed to care even a little bit, and what little bit of consideration for Chris he had was soon wiped out.

It was horrible, but not unexpected. The real reason she had come back to Castle Rock was because she though Gordie might have come back too. His parents informed her that he was due in tomorrow evening, and so she settled on going to the local bar to drink her worries away. It was the best she could do, considering the circumstances.

---

Climbing the dirt mound, Gordon managed a smile. The tree-house had long since been torn down, but the girl there looked more or less like she always had. She smiled back at him, though it was a sad smile, one that said that something horrible had happened to her very recently, and it had.

He sat beside her, his loafers digging into the soft earth where he sat, and looked over at her, "Saw it in the newspapers first." He paused for a minute, "Were you there, when it happened?" The article hadn't said.

"No," She shook her head, her blue eyes vibrant with oncoming tears. "I was halfway across the world, Gordie. I was in fucking _Africa_. I should have been there." She was crying now, sobbing actually, and Gordie felt sincerely (as an old friend might have said) sympathetic for her. Her dreams, all of them, had come true. She was a wildlife photographer, and she traveled all over the world taking pictures so the less fortunate could see the magic the world held. Audrey and Chris had married young, for other people's standards at least, but Gordie didn't doubt that if Chris could have, he would have spent his dying breath telling Audrey that he loved her, or that it would be okay. Chris was that way.

His compassionate nature, after all, was what fucked him in the end. From what Gordie had heard, Chris was one hell of a lawyer, and would probably had been in history books in years to come had he not died so young. Of this, Gordie was sure. He and Audrey probably would have kids, would have moved to some house in the country, and all that jazz. He felt worse for thinking it as Audrey sobbed into his shoulder.

"Audrey," Gordie managed, finally breaking from the train of thought that included the future that Chris would never have, "It wasn't your fault, and you couldn't have prevented it."

She looked up at him, her bright eyes almost neon, "What am I going to do without him?"

And that was one question that Gordon LaChance could not answer.

---

_Dear Audrey, _

_ I found this when I was cleaning out some old boxes in an upstairs closet. It's from the summer we discovered the body. I thought you might like to have it. Chris sure would have. _

_ Yours, _

_ Gordie_

Audrey looked at the picture and smiled widely. The boys in the picture were grown up now, and one of them had even died, but those times were simple and Audrey thought that they were some of the best times Christopher Chambers, Gordon LaChance, Theodore DuChamp, and Vern Tessio had ever had.

And as she stared at the picture, she could almost hear Chris and the others' voices singing some degrading chant or another. It made her feel more at home than she had in two years. Sticking the photo in the mirror of her vanity, Audrey then turned and taking one last glance over her shoulder, turned off the light.


End file.
